By jessica quandt staff Writer
Hollister – County Planning Director Rob Mendiola was served
with a notice to appear in court because local lawyer Michael Pekin
is seeking whistleblower protection for two planning department
employees Pekin says will implicate Mendiola in the corruption
charges that have already been filed against San Benito County
Supervisor Richard Scagliotti.
By jessica quandt staff Writer
Hollister – County Planning Director Rob Mendiola was served with a notice to appear in court because local lawyer Michael Pekin is seeking whistleblower protection for two planning department employees Pekin says will implicate Mendiola in the corruption charges that have already been filed against San Benito County Supervisor Richard Scagliotti.
Mendiola will appear before a San Benito County Superior Court Judge as early as Tuesday for a restraining order hearing. Pekin, who represents plaintiff Juan Monteon in the Scagliotti suit, said neither of the employees have yet signed the declarations that will incriminate Mendiola because they first want protection from retaliation under the whistleblower protection section of California’s Labor Code.
“We need to realize that these are two human beings with obligations, with families, with hopes for the future, that have come forward and said ‘Here’s the truth, and here’s what’s going on,'” Pekin said.
Pekin has been wrangling with the outgoing supervisor for more than a year. He has a corruption suit filed against Scagliotti dating back to October of 2003. It states that Scagliotti allegedly pressured the Board of Supervisors to take its vehicle repair contract from Autoworks to San Benito Tire, the owner of which was a tenant of Scagliotti’s. The suit also alleges Scagliotti abused his power in the county to have the Churchill Nut plant rezoned from agricultural to manufacturing land, which made him a profit of $1.2 million. Finally, the suit states Scagliotti violated the Brown Act open meeting law along with the county’s four other supervisors while drafting the growth control initiative Measure G for his own personal gain.
The unsigned declarations state Mendiola used his position as head of the Planning Commission for the personal gain of himself and a small “clique” of other county officials. The declarations state Mendiola’s alleged abuses of power include:
• Speeding up building code approvals at the Churchill Nut plant after it was purchased by Scagliotti
• Pre-dating inspection cards on rental property he owns to avoid inspections on improvements to the property
• Delaying the opening of the Aromas Cafe because one of its owners had “given the Planning Department a hard time.”
• Conspiring to open a biker bar with Scagliotti and another county official to coincide with the start of the first Hollister Independence Rally. Mendiola allegedly wanted to use one of the two department employees as a “front man” so it wouldn’t look like a conflict of interest for Mendiola and Scagliotti to profit from the rally.
Scagliotti declined to comment Thursday.
